Friday, 28 March 2014

The Original Life Fibre's journey might have been brought to a grinding halt, but the final battle is still a daunting one, with both Ragyo and Harime determined to see their plan to subjugate humanity succeed.

Not only that, but they also seem to hold a lot of the cards - with these "final bosses" seemingly unassailable and the mechanics of their plan protected by a vast barrier, is there any way to stop them? Once the massed ranks of Goku uniform wearing students are stripped of their powers and effectively disabled by Ragyo's "Absolute Submission" power provided by Shinra-Koketsu, it seems as if the answer is no, with no human possibly capable of standing up to the villain of the piece. A good job, then, that Ryuko isn't exactly human.

Thanks to her efforts, and even more importantly those of Senketsu as he comes to a major realisation about his purpose in life, Ragyo's power to blunt the Goku uniforms that might be use against her is disabled, meaning that the counter-attack can begin. The gang has reckoned without Harime however, who appears to be an ideal backup plan to relaunch this attempt to instruct the world's Life Fibres to overthrow their wearers. Cue an epic finale fought just outside of the Earth's atmosphere, as Ryuko takes on all of the powers of her friend's uniforms, and more besides, to ensure that her mother's plan ultimately ends in failure.

Having worked itself into a position where it seemed impossible to screw things up, this was absolutely the rip-roaring finale of Kill la Kill that we expected, and exactly what the show deserved - pushed along at a lunatic pace with a constant spirit of one-upmanship, with some actual animation this week (which is always nice), and with some surprisingly touching moments in the midst of its insanity, one of which was then re-purposed for hilarious comedy within seconds.

Its fan service occasionally crossed the line into discomfort, but this is pretty much the only negative I can throw at Kill la Kill, a show that started off great and then just got better and better every week. At one point I was convinced that its wider narrative wouldn't be able to match its moments of one-off action and comedy, only to be proven utterly wrong as it provided a plot that perfectly fit the show's goals and desires like... well, like a well-tailored outfit. You will see better looking anime this year, let's not kid ourselves about that, but will you see anything so brashly, confidently, enjoyably in your face and as assured in its delivery as Kill la Kill? I would wager that we won't.